#and with Ric being a thing recently that just highlighted it all the more

[danny-chase]

"Without Robin I have no family."

Nightwing Secret Files #1

[girlsbtrs]

The Evolution of Women’s Wrestling Through Music

Written by Jennifer Moglia. Graphic by James N Grey.

If it wasn’t already obvious, judging from the fact that I write for a publication called Girls Behind The Rock Show, music is one of the most important things in my life. It has helped me form lasting friendships and relationships, given me some of the best memories and experiences, and has pushed me to find what I truly want to do with my life. However, another one of my interests, one of my favorite things in the world, actually, is something I don’t talk about quite often - professional wrestling.

No, I don’t mean the actual activity of performing professional wrestling (my body would probably snap in half), I mean watching professional wrestling, or as it is often described, “sports entertainment.” The type of professional wrestling made popular by WWE, storytelling through combat sports, is something that I got hooked on instantly.

The reason why I love writing so much is that I love telling stories, whether those stories belong to me, someone I know, or even someone I have no connection with. At the end of the day, once a story is written, it belongs to the world, for them to fall in love with and interpret in their own way.

As a writer, I feel as if I watch wrestling differently from other fans, as pretentious as that may sound. Rather than being focused on the punches and kicks or even the costumes that each performer wears, my mind is constantly zeroed in on the story being told.

Who are these characters? Why are they fighting against each other? What do they have to prove, to themselves, to their opponent, or to the world? 

What will they gain if they win this match? What will they lose if they fall short? How will they move forward, regardless of the result? 

Will this feud wrap up before the Summerslam in August, or by Wrestlemania in April? All of these questions and more swirl around my head when watching Monday Night Raw, NXT, and Friday Night Smackdown every week.

There are a ton of things that a performer can do to answer these questions, from outfit choices, to the way they speak to the audience, to how they celebrate when they win or how they react when they lose. One of my favorite ways that wrestlers’ stories are told is through their theme music.

Wrestlers’ entrance songs are some of the most iconic things about them. Whether someone is a fan of WWE or not, they’re sure to recognize John Cena’s “My Time is Now”, Hulk Hogan’s “Real American”, Triple H’s “The Game”, or CM Punk’s “Cult of Personality.” 

Music has also played an important role in some of WWE’s most iconic feuds. The quintessential video package for Daniel Bryan’s “YES” Movement and feud with Triple H leading up to him finally winning the world championship at Wrestlemania 30 was set to “Monster” by Imagine Dragons.

This is widely considered one of, if not the best, video packages that WWE has ever produced, due to the detailed way it chronicles Bryan’s entire career, from being considered an underdog and “B+ player” to winning the company’s most coveted prize in the main event of their biggest event of the year. The song, with lyrics about a man who feels like an outsider and has become something bigger than himself, elevates the emotional weight and epic feeling of the video.

With all that being said, it’s time to note one crucial detail. Notice how all of those recognizable theme songs and moments were for male performers?

Women’s wrestling has always taken a backseat to men’s wrestling, for way longer than WWE would probably like to admit. Matches with “bra and panties” stipulations, storylines centered around men and romance, an in-ring “live sex celebration” broadcast on TV, a championship belt shaped like a pink butterfly, and matches consistently being cut from shows or clocking in at under 10 minutes, sometimes even under three minutes, sadly were the norm for a very long time.

However, in the 2010s, the women’s wrestling Evolution kicked into high gear, as the women of WWE demanded to be seen as more than just “Divas.” In February 2015, after a three-hour episode of Raw had only one women’s match that lasted just over 30 seconds, fans on Twitter begged the company to #GiveDivasAChance.

The hashtag trended on Twitter and was acknowledged by WWE legends like Mick Foley, before the company’s CEO Vince McMahon tweeted the hashtag with the message “We hear you. Keep watching.” 

The next few years saw the Women’s Wrestling Evolution taking center stage, with three of the four horsewomen of WWE (Sasha Banks, Bayley, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch) debuting on the company’s main roster just a few months later in July 2015 after spending the last few years taking the NXT brand by storm. Over the course of the months that followed, women and their storylines were highlighted more than ever, setting up a red-hot feud for Wrestlemania 32 in April 2016.

What was so special about Wrestlemania 32? For the first time ever, the women would not be fighting for the Divas championship, battling to wear the glittery pink and purple butterfly belt. 

For the first time in history, the woman who won the match would be winning the WWE Women’s Championship, with a belt that looked just like the one that the men fight for. In addition, female performers would no longer be referred to as “Divas” - they would now be called Superstars, just like the men.

The next couple of years saw many more “first-ever” events for women’s wrestling. Between 2016 and 2018, fans would see the first-ever women’s Hell In A Cell match, Money in the Bank match, and Royal Rumble match, stipulations that had been staples for men for decades.

This all culminated in the first-ever all-women’s pay-per-view event, aptly titled Evolution, at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York. The night included matches that fans would look back on fondly for years to come, including wrestlers that had worked incredibly hard for years and undoubtedly deserved to have their special moments.

Women’s wrestling continued to rise in popularity in 2019, with two of the four horsewomen becoming the first-ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions (Sasha Banks and Bayley) and the other two (Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch), along with Ronda Rousey, made up the first-ever Wrestlemania main event to only include women.

In the years since then, there have of course been many hardships for the women of WWE, but the fanbase is behind their favorite female Superstars now more than ever. And, of course, just like the men, women’s wrestlers have used their entrance music to help build their characters and put themselves on the radar of the WWE Universe.

The aforementioned four horsewomen are a great example of this. Sasha Banks’ “Sky’s the Limit” has lyrics about reaching for the stars and achieving the dream regardless of a dark past or people who may have doubted you. This theme perfectly fits her character of “the boss”, a gritty underdog from Boston, Massachusetts who ultimately made it to the top.

Bayley’s character is a bit more complex, going from an energetic, happy-go-lucky, child-friendly character to a villain who laughs at the pain of others and betrays her friends. Her theme songs have reflected this, as her first song “Turn It Up” includes lyrics about dancing with everyone around the world while her most recent theme “Deliverance” is instrumental, filled with intimidating choir-like background and wild guitar riffs.

Charlotte Flair has never struggled with living in the shadow of her father, legendary wrestler Ric Flair. Her physicality, confidence, and general dominance made her a force to be reckoned with regardless of any men she was related to.

Her theme, “Recognition”, is a remix of her father’s music, much like how the robes she wears for her entrances are a tribute to the costumes he once wore. She maintains that she loves her family and acknowledges where she came from but is still her own person.

The final horsewoman and possibly the most popular, Becky Lynch’s theme “Celtic Invasion” seemed to doom her from the start, the music poking fun at her Irish background and setting her up to be seen as this archetype forever. However, she was able to turn the tables and become an iconic character in modern media, not just in WWE, and fans sing her music louder than the speakers play it every single night.

While the four horsewomen are often considered the poster children for the WWE Women’s Evolution, there are countless women’s wrestlers who have used their theme songs to build on their characters. Asuka’s “The Future” boasts the line “I am the future”, bringing the character’s larger-than-life, confident personality to life.

The legendary Paige’s “Stars in the Night” reads more like a pop-rock heavy-hitter than a wrestling theme, which matches her studded gear, black hair, and dark makeup perfectly. Even new rising stars like Bianca Belair have capitalized on their entrance music, embodying the line “They see that I’m way better than before, I never needed you at all” from her theme “Watch Me Shine” every time she steps into the ring.

Seeing two of my favorite things in the world in wrestling and music come together like this, especially to empower women, is something that makes my heart so happy. If you don’t already watch wrestling, I hope that this has made you want to give it a try. If you don’t plan on it, at least give some of these incredible women’s theme songs a listen (playlist linked here).

[beingallelite]

After the first four shows in All Elite Wrestling's short history, a handful of its talent made a grand first impression to many fans initially unfamiliar with much of the roster. Wrestlers who come to mind include Adam Page, Britt Baker, Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Nyla Rose.

None, however, have broken out quite like a 23-year-old from Long Island, New York, named Maxwell Jacob Friedman.

"I've had fans try and jump the guard rail," MJF told Bleacher Report. "I've had fans key my car. I've had fans try to stab me. I've had piss thrown at me. I'm the one getting booed here and yet these animals, these circus freaks, think it's OK to attack me for telling the truth. It's absolutely abysmal."

As one can imagine, many fans don't take too kindly to things MJF, who travels around the world to compete, says to them.

Just months into AEW's run, The Salt of the Earth has already established himself as arguably the best talker on the roster. Highlights include interrupting Bret Hart at the debut show in May, insulting the Fyter Fest crowd in epic fashion and being executive vice president Cody Rhodes' right-hand man as he gets ready for his AEW world championship title shot against Chris Jericho on Nov. 9 at Full Gear.

With his standout mic skills, it's easy to forget how good he's also been in high-profile matches that included Page, Allin and Jungle Boy just to name a few.

To say it's been a stratospheric rise for MJF would be an understatement. In just four years, the rising star went from beginning his wrestling career to being promoted as one of the faces of a major organization. For perspective, certain wrestlers with decades of experience may never reach that point.

Before deciding on his eventual line of work, Friedman was a football player at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. He grew up a wrestling fan, though, and eventually dropped out of college to join Create a Pro Wrestling Academy. Trained by Pat Buck and WWE star Curt Hawkins, MJF wrestled for numerous promotions across the Northeast indie circuit before signing with AEW in January.

He studies some of the greatest talkers in wrestling history, including Roddy Piper, Buddy Landel, Ernie Ladd, Ric Flair and even Tully Blanchard, whom MJF described as a "decrepit piece of s--t loser" after he intentionally interrupted the interview while walking past MJF at Starrcast wrestling convention in Chicago. To say Blanchard got under MJF's skin is an understatement.

"Get out of here, you old sack of s--t," the Burberry scarf-wearing MJF yelled at the wrestling legend. "Can you believe that guy? He wants to interrupt my interview?"

Moments after Blanchard left the room, a disgruntled MJF asked for a few moments to calm down before proceeding with the interview. Not many in the industry would talk to the Horseman like that, but MJF is not like many people. It's that talking that drew the former Major League Wrestling champion to the business.

"There were people that grabbed you just by talking, and that's what I loved about professional wrestling when I started out," MJF said. "That's why I'm already so good. That's why people literally hang on the edge of their seats when I have a mic because they want to know what I'm going to say.

"And by the way, I'm also really good in the ring too. Some would say that's unfair, and I'd probably be inclined to agree."

During his time at AEW, he's proved there aren't many lines he won't cross. At Double or Nothing, MJF mocked Hart for genuinely being attacked by a fan at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony last April. He followed that up by flicking off the Fyter Fest crowd before poking fun at the event's video game-oriented fanbase.

Just don't call what MJF has to say "harsh."

"I'm honestly offended whenever someone says I'm being harsh," he said. "For some reason we love using these poppy words in 2019 because everybody loves to choose to be offended. Nothing I say is harsh. What I do say is the truth. If people have a problem with that, they need to realize that's on them. That's not on me."

A person like MJF who isn't afraid to say whatever's on their mind is naturally going to make some enemies. Also take into consideration that Friedman, a wrestling purist, has admittedly been thrown off by the signings of unorthodox talent AEW has brought on in recent months.

Even the merest mention of hardcore standouts such as Allin, Joey Janela and Jimmy Havoc, the "fun-sized" Marko Stunt who stands 5'2" and the infamous Orange Cassidy known for his intentionally lackadaisical wrestling style almost made MJF vomit mid-interview.

"Do you have a napkin? I think some puke came out of my mouth."

MJF thinks a handful of the AEW signings make a mockery of the sport he loves and are applauded for doing so.

"I'll put it this way: In this country, much like our roster, there's a bit of a divide," he explained. "You have the top 1 percent, guys like me and Cody Rhodes. Then you have Jimmy Havoc, Darby Allin, Marko Stunt, etc.

"I'll be honest with you, the first time Marko stepped in the locker room, I got scared because I thought someone lost their kid. I tried to help the poor bastard out. He gave me his ID and turns out he's my age. Truly frightening stuff who AEW brass allow in the locker room.

"If a guy like Orange Cassidy can find a way to stop being a jabroni and fit inside my world, more power to him. If I had to lean toward one way or the other, though, I'd tell you it probably won't come out all sunshine and rainbows at the end of Orange Cassidy's career here at AEW. I could be totally wrong, but I'm not."

Due to these signings, he admits he has lost some trust with certain members of the front office aside from Cody. MJF's faith in AEW is kept afloat in part by the friendship and business acumen of The American Nightmare, whom he deems the smartest man in the industry.

"The guy thinks on a different level," MJF continued. "What's the old saying...one man's trash is another's treasure? In this case, maybe Cody sees one man's s--t, dirtbag, backyard wrestler in a way that I can't. Cody has a much smarter wrestling brain than I have. I'm only four years into the business. If he sees money in there, then there's money in there."

MJF made quite the impression on Rhodes and AEW president Tony Khan, who re-signed the self-proclaimed fastest rising star in professional wrestling to a reported five-year contract last July. According to Friedman, he's now the longest-contracted roster member in the company not including front-office personnel (Cody and Brandi Rhodes, Kenny Omega, Young Bucks).

Expectations are at an all-time high for MJF.

"They now pay me even more money than I was making before, and the money I was making before was already stupid."

"I'd like to think I'll be a multiple-time AEW world champion within my first five years at the company, or maybe I'll hold it once and just never lose it."

As AEW's television debut date of All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite on Wednesday on TNT approaches, MJF has some words of advice for the "stupid, fat fans" who continue to critique him.

"If you're sitting down and reading this crap, you have no life already," he said. "Granted, it's me talking so I'll give you a bye. But there's more to life than sitting in your basement and masturbating. Get out of your house, find someone that's probably not attractive and just stay away from me because your life and existence is sad and it makes me sad."

Well, there it is. Frankly there wasn't a more fitting way to end this interview.

[themathrockblog]

MEDITATIONS ON TALL SHIPS

An Ode to Math Rock Ancestry and an Indie Pop Hereafter 

For many a young person drifting hopelessly through those angst-stricken teenage years, music is the greatest comfort. Guiding lyrics sang in heartfelt tones can sooth in times of trouble, elevating an unassuming frontman into a sage of the stage. Reminiscing to oneself about having witnessed passionate performances from gigs past can bring about a warm nostalgia. In music scenes underground and with bands underloved, this is often accompanied by a feeling of privilege for having been one of the 30 or something strong audience, marooned inside a dingy venue taking shared solace in the evening’s escape. The pure release in the intimacy of these moments sets aside any lingering awkwardness of being in a room that everyone wishes was less empty. Nervous bands feel all-the-more appreciated, deservedly, as those hearty singalongs and well-timed nods prove the audience’s attentiveness and familiarity with the music.

Having seen them a dozen or so times in the past 8 years, Tall Ships embody these experiences like no other band. Ric Phethean intonates profound mantras with a sheepish innocence, an uncertainty that belies his impact in the room. Lyrics explore both the introspective and the exultant whilst instruments march along in tandem; the pensive plods along the keyboard in Vessels or Ode to Ancestors flow flawlessly into the pent-up energy of Hit the Floor or Plate Tectonics. I remember with limpid clarity the moment I heard ‘Oscar’ for the first time. On a tour preceding the release of Everything Touching, new tunes were working their way into the set. Out of an enchanting glut of songs filled with familiar sing-along anthems came a riff I had not heard before, from a band that – on recollection, I realise - were primed to air new material but also nervous about the abreaction they knew they were about to undergo. As the song rose to its crescendo (in that typically-tall-ships manner) I heard for the first time the line ‘I love you more than you know’; a heartfelt refrain pouring from exhausted lungs. Then bassist Matt Parker, crouched and cowering in the ache of the moment, paused and took respite, summoning enough energy to longingly and heart-wrenchingly reach for a lightly crumpled photograph of a loved one, sellotaped to the cabinet of his bass amp. ‘Oscar’ is about familial bonds, friends, ancestry and the joy of the unspoken contracts we assume with the people we love and care for. I’ve no compulsion to know who it was that Matt was paying tribute to so touchingly, to know that they ‘share more than blood’ and that their ‘heartbeat is the most important thing’ to him served to consecrate that moment as one of the most moving I have experienced from live music.

Approaching Tall Ships’ long-awaited second album with this rich personal history behind me was difficult. Having waited an extra month due to pressing problems, the time that had elapsed between the release of Will to Life - first aired back at ArcTanGent in 2015 - and the first full playthrough was nearing two years. How would this new album land, mixing upbeat festival songs by now so familiar with newer, mellower and more mournful offers. Long time collaborator and producer James Field had become a fully-fledged member, reducing the live performance workload of Ric to the benefit of his already engaging performance style. But how might a fourth man wholly focused on the keys in the studio play out on the album? Any nervous anticipation I had was shattered and reconciled about a minute into the album. The opener Road Not Taken is a perfect harbinger of the contrasting styles to come, the split sections  encapsulating the yin and yang of the album in one bifurcated song. Once the stripped-down opening has settled in, and whispered vocals and synths have passed, the band punch in with full percussion and guitar, giving a satisfying glimpse into the indie rock anthems to come. Amongst the most radio friendly of these anthems are the two tracks released as music video singles, Will to Life and Mediations on Loss, featuring thumping rhythms and nods to old influences like Biffy Clyro, with massive hook-filled choruses and a crunchy guitar-driven tone. On the softer end of the pop spectrum, Lucille darts in with an interlocked rhythm section reminiscent of early Bombay Bicycle Club, though Tall Ships make their own mark with a chorus of vocal lines - taken from all parts of the song and interwoven - that works so surprisingly well as an ending cacophony. Testament to the true accessibility of this album, Lost & Found features a short guitar riff that sounds like the Arctic Monkeys track ‘That’s Where You’re Wrong’, showcasing the indie band making ballads with a nostalgic 80’s tone.

Ending on a note of relative optimism, Day by Day is a bittersweet anthem for repair and renewal, a chance ‘to redefine why it is you live your life’. These sentiments define this charming track as it fights its way towards being optimistic but ultimately remains grounded in the futile mire of reality: ‘we need to do something before we get too old.’  The tone is at times upbeat, the lyrics never too saccharine, the sad reflections thus far end with a glimmer of hope, like watching a split of daylight radiate between two grey clouds.

A word for the two tracks hidden away on the C side of the vinyl could not go amiss. Something of a concealed title track, Impressions creates a purposeful backdrop of layered synths as Ric roars out with a lyrical drive-by of the albums themes. A wallop of uplifting guitar slowly builds in a cinematic moment of anticipation reminiscent of their debut album closer, Murmurations; this fiery post-rock instrumental as engrossing as Rock Action era Mogwai. Meanwhile, Purge finishes the offerings of this album with a little guitar groove, jumping and darting, whilst the vision of Impressions is brought to a close with a plangent piano refrain.

As ever, Tall Ships’ drum work is understated, a highlight from Everything Touching being the simple fx-laden beat that starts and underlines Idolatry. Once again – and more ear-catching than ever - Jamie shows how best to serve the song by writing simple, crunchy motifs with the odd beat chopped off, reverb slapped on or percussive tone changed, as to excite the ear on the first listen but to let it settle in hypnotically upon repeat. Meanwhile, Matt’s complimentary bass riffs range from the pulsing grooves in Lucille to the thumping persistence of Meditations on Loss to the warm and wide undercurrents of Home.

Along this well-trodden path from largely instrumental, intricately looped and angular math-rock towards a more careful pop sound sit bands like Enemies and, more recently, Waking Aida. Similarly, Tall Ships’ turn from dense loops of interwoven riffs to an indie pop tone traces a clear path. From the spoken word samples on their first EP, to the big swooning vocal lines on ‘Chemistry’, to the more vocally driven parts of Everything Touching, now we have the complete package; nine tracks where vocal hooks don’t just adorn great riffs as an afterthought, but provide the foundation for the song. The stories and sentiments told feel as if they are influencing the style of the instruments for the first time in the band’s work.

Resultantly, the song structures are built around the lyrical drive too. And so, although the band have adopted a more indie alt-pop tone, outside of the radio-friendly singles they still have a penchant for longer songs with unusual musical throughflows. This pushes them to rewarding places. Ric’s unwinding narratives compel the band to forego the traditional verse-chorus set up in favour of one long, building and unfolding track that slowly envelopes those brave enough to listen attentively. In doing so, the band avoid a feeling of disjointedness; no longer treading back along old paths with a chorus repeated wholesale, but forging a new one on which Ric’s evocative message can develop. This allows songs like Home and Petrichor to germinate organically, to be as immersive sonically as the lyrics are in their narrative form.

Since the release of the B-side Send News from 2011’s single Hit the Floor, I have been enamoured with Tall Ships at their most delicate. When the bombast of pulsing drums and angular riffs subsides, you are left – in Idolatry, Ode to Ancestors and another B-side, Life Goes On - with layers of vocal, ripples of piano and delicate refrains to sing along to. For this reason, the lilting Lost & Found is without a doubt my personal highlight of this release, and arguably the best showcase of Ric’s unique ability never to waste a good lyric on a half-hearted melody, but to propel each line into significance with a memorable one. Lyrically, Ric writes the textbook for demonstrating how profound it can be to never worry about profundity, but to know the first words that come to mind often capture the idea at its most transparent and honest. On this theme, it is surprising that after the many years the band have had to self-produce the album, achingly crafting every single note and tone of each overdub, the album still sounds the result of an effortless, unstudied process. A common criticism from those that have been following the band since their guitar loop-driven early days is that they’ve lost their exciting mathyness. This was perfectly crystallised to me at ATG in 2014 when (in a drunkenly slurred Scottish accent) a young man confided in me his belief that ‘Tall Ships are wee bit too poppy.’ Well, I’d obviously argue after having written this ludicrously long review, I think they’re exactly poppy enough: utterly hypnotic, effortless, memorable, but still showcasing intricate, complex and thoughtful songs with stunning musicianship and a ‘less is more but 5 sets of backing vocals and 3 synth tones still aren’t quite enough’ sort of feeling. A masterful album and their best release to date. Another minute would be too intense to bear.

[newsnigeria]

Check out New Post published on Ọmọ Oòduà

New Post has been published on http://ooduarere.com/news-from-nigeria/world-news/insights-on-the-iran/

Insights on the Iran deal, BRICS and Venezuela

by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with The Asia Times by special agreement with the author)

An exclusive interview with former Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim on how BRICS came into being, how the nuclear deal was done with Tehran and how the South dealt with Chavez

Brazil is once again in the eye of a political hurricane, after President Jair Bolsonaro’s appearance at Davos and explosive revelations directly linking his clan to a criminal organization in Rio de Janeiro.

With his administration barely a month old, Bolsonaro is already being seen as expendable to the elites that propelled him to power – from the powerful agribusiness lobby to the financial system and the military.

The new game among the elites of a major actor in the Global South, BRICS member and eighth biggest economy in the world consists of shaping a scenario capable of rescuing one the great frontiers where global capitalism is expanding from total irrelevancy.

That includes the possibility of a “soft coup”, with the Bolsonaro clan sidelined by the Brazilian military rallying around the vice-president, General Hamilton Mourao.

Under these circumstances, a conversation with former Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim is more than sobering. Amorim is universally recognized as one of the top diplomats of the young 21st century, a symbol of the recent past, under President Lula, when Brazil was at the top of its game as a resource-rich continental nation actively projecting power as a BRICS leader.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ambassador Amorim, who is also the author of ‘Acting Globally: Memoirs of Brazil’s Assertive Foreign Policy’ in Sao Paulo. Here are some highlights of our conversation – from the birth of BRICS to the current Venezuela crisis.

BRICS – the most important group in the drive towards a multipolar world – is a very dirty word in Washington. How did it all start?

I had met [British economist] Jim O’Neill a few times, who first talked about BRIC, which was not yet a group and nobody saw as a group. This may sound pretentious, but it’s a curious story. I told him, ‘It is you that invented the BRICS, right?’ He said, ‘Yes, of course, I’m very proud of it’. Then I replied, ‘Yes, but I’m the one who made it happen’. Well, it was not exactly me – under the Lula government and all that it entails. The first action in terms of creating the BRIC group – still without an “S” – came from Sergey Lavrov, in a meeting we had in New York in 2006. They had the RIC [Russia, India, China], but they did not hold many summits. And we had IBAS [India, Brazil, South Africa]. Both China and Russia were always trying to get into IBAS. There was the idea that these were three great democracies, each one in a continent and in a major developing country – so the Russians and Chinese might have thought, ‘we also want to get in, why not, because we are not democracies?’ IBAS was also present in the commercial G-20 at the WTO, and IBAS had similar ideas about reform of the UN Security Council; so the geopolitical interests were not the same.

Then Lavrov proposed BRIC as a forum, I think maybe to find some more equilibrium inside the RIC. I always talked in terms of BRICS, so one day he asked me ‘Why do you say BRICS?’ and I replied, “because it’s plural, in Portuguese’, so in a sense, we were already anticipating the entry of South Africa.

We first agreed we would have a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Lavrov and I already had something more substantial, the Indians and the Chinese just read a speech, so it looked like there would not be a consequential follow-up. Next year we met at the Brazilian UN mission, outside of the UN, and decided to do it later out of New York. Lavrov then offered Yekaterinburg, where we had the first ministerial meeting in 2008, and then next year the first presidential summit, also in Yekaterinburg, and in Brazil in 2010. It was here that the idea of BRIC was expanded into BRICS – through a dinner that concluded IBAS and inaugurated BRICS.

At the time, did you think about expanding to other top emerging economies, such as Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey, Iran?

IBAS was born on the second day of President Lula’s government [in January 2003], out of an idea to create a group of developing countries, around seven or eight. I thought a larger group would be very complicated, based on my experience – how to coordinate positions and engage in concrete projects. For instance, Egypt would have to be a member.

When did you start to seriously discuss practical steps towards the emergence of a multipolar world – such as trade in members’ currencies? Was it in 2010?

In 2010 certainly, we had the idea of trade using each member’s currency, not yet the idea – that happened under the Dilma government – of the BRICS bank. But we were already talking about the coordination of our development banks. The concept of multipolarity, the Russians may have been the first to outline it. What I do remember about the use of the concept was by the French, especially when there were serious divergences about the attack on Iraq.

Former French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin insisted on it.

Villepin, yes, but even Hubert Vedrine [foreign minister under Jacques Chirac from 1997-2002] before him, who came up with the concept of ‘hyperpower’. So the ones who spread the concept were the French, and we adhered to it, among developing countries. The French, when they talked about the expansion of the UN Security Council, they said they were in favor regarding Germany and Japan, but also ‘three great nations of the South’, Brazil included.

The Lula government started in January 2003. Geopolitics at the time was conditioned by the war on terror. We were already expecting the invasion of Iraq. How did you, in the first days of January 2003, knowing that Dick Cheney and the neocons were about to turn the Middle East upside down, with direct and indirect repercussions on the Global South, how did you start conceiving a multi-vector Brazilian foreign policy? Which were the priorities?

I think neither President Lula nor myself used the term “multipolar” – even though the concept was already on the table. We wanted to have good relations with the US but also with the largest developing countries. When we started the greatest problems were the Free Trade Area of the Americas [FTAA], so we had to look for other partners; the WTO and negotiations in the Doha round; and Iraq. The combination of all these led Brazil to get closer to India and South Africa, to a great extent via the WTO, and because of Iraq, we got closer to Russia, Germany and France. When President Lula went to Davos…

That was Lula’s first Davos, right?

Yes, but first he went to the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre [in Brazil], then he went to Davos. The message was the search for an equilibrium; to do business, of course, but based on the idea of democratic social change.

Were you discussing Iraq in detail with Russia, Germany and France?

Yes, we were, with Schroeder in Germany and Chirac, as well as Villepin at the Security Council. And there was a fourth problem: Venezuela. Lula had already talked about it with Chavez. During the inauguration of President Gutierrez of Ecuador, Lula’s first foreign trip, on January 15, Lula proposed, in a meeting in a room full of presidents, the creation of the Friends of Venezuela Group, at a moment when the crisis was acute, even though the country was not as debilitated as today.

Already in January 2003 was there neocon pressure on Brazil in relation to Venezuela?

I think they did not know how to deal with Lula and the new government. But they were very strong on Venezuela – especially [US diplomat] Roger Noriega. And yet they saw Brazil was proposing something and accepted it. Fidel was against it, but Chavez, in the end, was convinced by Lula. And this is also relevant for today. Lula said it in so many words; this is not a Friends of Chavez group, it’s a Friends of Venezuela group. So this must also include the United States, Spain and Portugal – under conservative administrations. That was a way to escape from the OAS [Organisation of American States] and its penchant for the Monroe doctrine [the US policy of opposing European colonialism in the Americas].

I used to talk to Colin Powell quite frequently – and not to receive instructions. There were many issues he wanted to know about, and he trusted Brazil. He had a notion of the importance of Brazil, our capacity for dialogue.

Switching to the Obama era, tell us about the role of Brazil, alongside Turkey, in the Iran nuclear negotiation, when you clinched a deal in Tehran in less than 24 hours, only for it to be smashed by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the next day.

It was a long process, followed by 19 hours of negotiations, the Iranians tried to reopen one of the issues, both Lula and Erdogan refused. What facilitated our role as mediators was that the US had its hands full in the Middle East. I already had contacts with Javier Solana, then a sort of Foreign Affairs Minister of the EU, and also [Egyptian diplomat] ElBaradei, from my time at the UN. Obama, in a meeting of the G-8 + 5 in Italy, during a bilateral with us, he said three things: ‘I extended my hand and they did not answer’; ‘We need to solve the nuclear dossier’; ‘And I need friends to say what I cannot say’. What we did in the end, because we thought it was the right thing to do, with a lot of work and facing hardships, was exactly what the Americans wanted. One month before the deal I thought it would not happen. But then we received a letter from Obama, and to my greatest surprise, that was a reiteration of the same initial three points.

Hillary always had a different position. I foresaw her reaction as a possibility. We talked on the phone, in Madrid, when I was coming back from Iran, and I said, ‘Look, in Brazil we have this expression, ‘I didn’t read it, and I didn’t like it’. She did not want a deal. In a phone call before my trip, she was adding some other points of discussion and I said, ‘Hillary, this is a trust-building agreement. And these points that you mention were not in the letter delivered by your own President’. I’m not exaggerating, what followed was a silence lasting half a minute. So I thought; did she read the letter? Or she read it, and because they are a great power they can do what they want, and we have to take it, and adapt to it?

So what about China and Russia accepting the American line – no deal, more sanctions?

I know the sweeteners that made them accept it – concessions on the sanctions front. But geopolitically…

What’s your informed hypothesis?

There are two. This was a problem they did not solve. Who’s part of the global directory? The five permanent members of the Security Council. Now we have two developing countries, who are not even part of the Security Council, and they solve it? By coincidence, both were non-permanent members of the Security Council at the time. The other thing is whenever we are discussing a nuclear issue, the five get closer, because they are all nuclear powers.

What’s your insider view, as a statesman, of Vladimir Putin, demonized 24/7 in the US as a major existential threat to the West?

The first time I saw Putin face to face was when he received three nations from the Group of Rio, and the main topic of discussion was Iraq. That was before the invasion in March 2003. What most impressed me was his great knowledge of the dossiers – something you usually don’t expect from presidents. He’s extremely sharp, very intelligent, obviously cares for Russian interests but at the same time pays attention to the balance of power. A very realist politician. I don’t see him as a great idealist. He’s like a 19th-century politician, very conscious geopolitically.

Now, in the South American chessboard, regarding the Venezuelan crisis, we are seeing a direct confrontation between the four major poles of Eurasia – Russia, China, Iran, Turkey – against the US. And with another BRICS member, Brazil, siding against Russia and China.

In a multipolar world, we now have a huge test, because Brazil presides over the BRICS in 2019. How is Brazil going to be seen inside BRICS? There used to be an atmosphere of trust inside BRICS.

I’ve got to say that based on my experience at the Security Council, when I was ambassador, during the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso [from 1995 to 2003], the Russians and the Chinese gave immense weight to respect for national sovereignty. In terms of international law, they always stress non-intervention. I hope we won’t have a confrontation like Vietnam in our region. But when President Trump says that all options are on the table, he’s obviously accepting a military solution. This is very dangerous. I see a very sound Brazilian position coming from General Mourao [the Brazilian vice-president]. And yet the Foreign Ministry says Brazil will support politically and economically a government that does not exist – so that already means intervention.

On a personal level, in the drive towards multipolarity, what is the most important story in the world for the next 10 or 20 years? What is the issue that drives you the most?

I think that the fundamental theme is psychological – and also civilizational. It’s respect for The Other – and the acceptance of alterity. And this also concerns international relations. We need to understand that the common good is part of our well-being. This reflects on individual attitudes, in internal attitudes in politics, and in international relations. Look at the current, violent attack on multilateralism. We should see that it’s better to work multilaterally than capitulate to the law of the jungle.

[the-record-columns]

October 17, 2018: Columns

It never occurred to me the trouble I would be in...

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher 

I’m hoping the Statute of Limitations has run out on the Welborn bootlegger I want to tell you about today, because it’s me.

When I was in school at Western Carolina University in the late 60’s, whenever folks would figure out I was from Wilkes County, North  Carolina, they would invariably ask if I could get them a jar of white liquor. I knew the county had a reputation for moonshine but, until I went away to school, I had no idea how strong a reputation. Well, the regular requests coupled with the fact that I was always broke as a convict, got me thinking I could help my buddies and make a little money at the same time.  All I really needed was a source I could trust, and I would be in business.

When I mentioned my idea to Chelsie McNeil one day, he immediately steered me to his lifelong friend, Maurice Wheeling.  Maurice ran the Wheeling’s Store on N.C. 268 at the Elk Creek bridge in Ferguson and, sure enough, he was willing to help.  Each Sunday, on my way back to school, I would go by Wheeling’s Store in Ferguson and pick up 12 or 24 pints of Wilkes County’s finest white liquor.  The going rate was $2 a pint and, when I didn’t have the money, Maurice would give me credit till the next trip.  This arrangement worked very well, as I was easily able to charge $4 a pint at school. I’m telling you, that stuff was popular because, at the time, anyone over 21 could buy bonded liquor at an ABC Store for as little as $3 a pint.

Then there was the apple brandy.

Apple brandy was much harder to come by, and I was getting a lot of inquiries.  I had asked Maurice about brandy on a couple of occasions, but he never seemed to have any.  Then, one Sunday he had good news.

“Look at this.” he said, flashing the grin that everyone in Ferguson loved. “Here’s something that will pass for apple brandy until we can do better."  He opened a case of pint jars and held one up to the light.  He laughed as he explained that he had put a small slice of Limber Twig apples in each jar.  "Take out the apple before you show these to anyone. When they take the lid off the jar, all they will smell is apples and they’ll be happy.”

Maurice Wheeling knew exactly what he was talking about.  It worked like a charm and everyone was thrilled.  I sold “apple brandy” for $6 a pint as fast as I could unload it.

Truth is, I continued to haul a little “produce” as long as I was in school at Western. It never occurred to me the trouble I would be in if I had an accident and that white liquor spilled, or if for some other reason I managed to get caught.

That reality would come later, in the 70s, when I was working at WWWC in Wilkesboro with a disc jockey named Ric Vandett.  Ric had invited me to go to New York City with him for his cousin’s wedding, and I agreed to go.  All the entire trip would cost me, he said, was a case of  “…the good stuff.”

"No problem,” I said, and set about putting my hands on a few jars of white liquor and, once again, it was Chelsie McNeil who found it for me.  When Ric Vandett and I arrived in New York, I was soon introduced to the father of the bride, whose first question was simply, "Are you the guy with the moonshine?“

"Yes.” I answered, and delivered the goods.

From that moment forward, I was a member of the family, an honored guest. Yes, I was Cousin Ken from North  Carolina.  It was a completely fascinating weekend.  I had never been to a real Italian wedding, and they pulled out all the stops. There were endless parties and receptions and, every day, I continued to receive whispered “thank yous” for my contribution to the festivities.

As Ric and I were returning home that weekend, we talked a lot about the good times we enjoyed on our trip.  After a while, I told him I was actually a bit nervous around all his uncles and cousins.  When he asked why, I told him it was because it seemed as though most of them were carrying guns all weekend.

Even in church.

Ric laughed out loud as he explained to me his uncles and cousins are all New York City cops, and therefore required to carry guns.

“Are you telling me I delivered a case of white liquor to a ballroom full of policemen?” I stuttered.

“Yeah,” Ric said, as he nodded, and laughed again.

Folks, I want you to know I went out of the liquor business that day, never to return.

 Restore Faith in Yourself

By LAURA WELBORN

I have the obvious universal goal of losing weight.  

My friend encouraged me to do weight watchers with her.  It has been interesting how the principles of being aware of what you are eating in a point system.  I learned not to stay focused on my overall goal but to rejoice when I lost a pound or so a week.  I learned to forgive myself when I over ate the points for the day and try to make it up the next few days.  Points are counted each week and then you start over.  

Eating has become intentional and I learned to be OK with it being a slow consistent weight loss.  I began to consciously shift my focus away from the big goals and toward the little daily rituals that support them.  Consider the following…

●       If your struggling with an addiction your goal is to resist the temptation of your vice one day at a time.

●       If you’re a student, your goal is to learn and earn the diploma to qualify you to do what you want to do in a career.  Your ritual is your daily study habits.

●       If you’re a parent, your goal is to be a great role model for your children.  Your ritual is the time and energy you commit to setting a good example each day.

●       If you’re a human being, your goal is to live a happy, meaningful life.  Your ritual is the small, positive steps forward you take every day towards kindness and gratitude.

And if you mess up occasionally?  You own up to it, you forgive yourself, and you try again.  One day at a time, one step at a time, you get to restoring your faith in yourself which is arguably the most significant hidden benefit of consistently practicing a daily ritual—of trying again and again and again.

When you try to achieve a goal all at one time when you fail you lose faith in both your ability and yourself.  It’s kind of like another person constantly lying to you—eventually you stop trusting them. The same holds true with the little promises you make to yourself that always end in disappointment. Eventually, you stop trusting yourself.

And the solution in most cases is the same too: you have to restore your faith and trust gradually, with small promises, small steps, daily rituals), and small victories.  Again, this process takes time, but it happens if you stick to it.  And it’s undoubtedly one of the most important, life-changing things you can do for yourself.

And this is way weight watchers is successful- it builds on small steps, intentional eating and celebrating victories weekly at their meetings.   Then there is the starting new each week and forgiving yourself when you overeat.  I think the writing down everything you eat helps build accountability to your goal.  So when we meet our goals in small steps we restore our faith in the idea that we can achieve our goal…. It’s all about the small steps - the daily rituals that count.  

Laura Welborn is a counselor at Donlin Counseling who works with people to meet their goals of conquering addictions and healing relationships.  www.donlincounseling.com  336-838-7371

Israeli innovation blesses the nations​

 By EARL COX

Special to The Record

Israeli innovation was on the front burner during German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s recent visit to Israel which highlighted joint initiatives in water, green energy and agritech. Israel and Germany also agreed to collaborate in artificial intelligence, cyber defense, water, nanotechnology, electrochemistry, and oceanographic and cancer research. Merkel’s visit is just one example of how Israel reaches out to help and heal the world.  

Israeli innovation touches nearly every sector of life—science, business, food, defense, health, even navigating traffic (WAZE is an Israel app). In medicine, there’s help for mustard gas victims, cartilage replacement, desert plants that combat lymphoma, even a pill-size camera patients can swallow for noninvasive colonoscopies.

It’s been 70 years since Israel started transforming the Middle East’s technology desert, making it bloom and boom with more than 5,000 start-ups and myriad multinational corporations. But what’s most remarkable about this relatively tiny nation is the darkness of the region around her.

Despite the challenges of literally draining the swamp, providing for refugees, forging a common language, and facing wars and hostility from Day One, Israel’s defense forces, democracy and educational values have driven what some call its “miraculous” economic and social growth.  Israel’s economy is booming. 

Israel’s military trains young adults “to lead and manage people, improvise, become mission-oriented, and work in teams,” said “Start-up Nation” authors Dan Senor and Saul Singer. Plus, being a democracy protects and encourages individual freedom and initiative, unlike authoritarian regimes, which quench knowledge that might upset the equilibrium.

But one of innovation’s greatest drivers is Israeli education, with its seven research universities, 66 institutions of higher learning, and equal educational opportunities for all races and faiths within its borders. As a result, Israel is a global leader in patents, and has the fifth highest number of scientific articles per million people, the highest R&D output and a stunning percentage of Nobel laureates.

 Yet when Israel reached out to Jerusalem’s Arab citizens to offer its curriculum in their schools thereby opening a door for their children to study at its highly ranked universities—Palestinian educators slammed the offer as “racist.” Higher Education Minister Sabri Saidam called it a “declaration of war against Arab and Palestinian existence in East Jerusalem.” Educator Ziyad Al-Shamali threatened legal action against any schools allowing the “Judaization of education.” The official PA daily accused Israel of “imposing” its elective offer to “control the minds of Palestinian students and falsify Palestinian history.”

Palestinian leaders fear that Israel will teach history like they do—as propaganda and brainwashing. They distrust the West’s educational approach of free thought and inquiry, which could expose students to the truth about Israel’s democracy and history—including Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Thus the Palestinians’ hatred of Israel has barred their children from a potentially brighter future. 

This mentality illustrates why Arabs, who once led the world in science, are dropping behind. Some Arab scholars attribute this to Islam. Pakistani Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy told The New York Times he attributes the dearth to “an increasing emphasis over the last millennium on rote learning based on the Koran. The notion that all knowledge is in the Great Text is a great disincentive to learning. It's destructive if we want to create a thinking person, someone who can analyze, question and create.''

The rejection of critical thought and innovation is producing “a great army of young Arabs, jobless, unskilled and embittered, cut off from changing their own societies by democratic means,”according to The Economist.

Israel discreetly uses its expertise to help its Arab neighbors. But so long as the Palestinians are blinded by hatred, and hemmed in by authoritarianism, they may remain a people of missed opportunities.

 The Hebrew Scriptures say, “Choose life.” The first two commandments, cornerstones of Jewish law and the IDF code of ethics, say to love G-d and your neighbor. But Islam is a religion of war and conquest. This perspective helps explain why Palestinians can’t fathom when Israel extends a helping hand. 

To untap and train talent and creativity in today’s Arab youth, some educational and democratic fresh air could release them into a better future. Spurning Israel, which desires to share its blessings with the world, leads nowhere.

[placetobenation]

As many of you are aware, WWE Network is pretty packed with all sorts of content. And as you may also know, we here at Place to Be Nation love long term, in depth projects. So, as part of this initiative, members of the PTBN Staff are choosing programs at random and after watching each program, they will share their thoughts, notes and recommendations with our readers. So, settle in and enjoy this epic ride through wrestling history!

Clash Of The Champions I Run Time: 114 Minutes

Why Dave  Why???: As I was growing up down here in Australia, the only wrestling I was exposed to was the WWF. Then in 1988, I discovered “Pro Wrestling Illustrated”. The first issues I ever saw were the WrestleMania IV recaps, but the magazine was gushing all over the NWA Clash of Champions card. It was my first exposure to non-WWF wrestling. They said this was an amazing card that stomped all over the action at WrestleMania IV. When I finally got access to the WWE network, it was one of the first cards I sat and watched. The reason this was chosen for the adventure this week was that I was interested to how it held up after all these years, especially as the Place to Be Podcast is in the middle of reviewing 1988 WWF.

Best Segment

So I did some bad things…

Brian Bayless: This show was all about the matches as opposed to the “segments” but if I had to choose I guess the interaction between Jim Cornette and Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell). It wasn’t great, but better than the interviews that took place on the show and Osmond was a good sport.

Jacob Williams: The chaos that ensued after the Midnight Express match was only rivaled by the match itself.

Calum McDougall: My segment of the night is everything that involved the Midnight Express vs. the Fantastics. You got the sense that these four men hated each other and James E. even got a good amount of licks in I felt the same as the crowd in the arena who were hot throughout, I loved it.

Dave Hall: Jim Cornette whipping the Fantastics. After a great match, we were treated to a post-match brawl, and Cornette whipping Bobby Fulton with a belt. It generated great heat, and added fuel to the fire of this feud after the “Dusty” Finish. Cornette played the part of the furious and crazed manager, while Eaton and Lane kept Rogers at bay. Simple but effective.

Best Match

Really? Us?

Brian Bayless: The Fantastics vs. Midnight Express for the U.S. Tag Team Titles packed an incredible amount of action in a little under ten minutes. The match started off with a wild brawl and the heat was maintained throughout. The finish was weak (somewhat of a theme tonight) but I guess that was how they wanted to keep this feud going.

Jacob Williams: As epic and important as Flair/Sting was, I have to give it to Midnight Express vs The Fantastics by a hair. It was just ten minutes of (total) nonstop action with insane crowd heat. Every single person involved, including Cornette, went full bore.

Calum McDougall: Will I honor one of my correct answers in the recent PTB500 Trivia Contest and pick Rotundo vs Garvin? In a word…no! Sting vs Flair is the best match on a fantastic show. Probably the most famous match of these their rivalry, it was a 45 minute draw that felt less than half that time. What can I say that hasn’t been said before? It was a star making performance that began Sting’s ascent into becoming the franchise of WCW. All the stars!

Dave Hall: With several strong contenders for match of the night, I went with the Midnights vs. the Fantastics. This match was non-stop action from the moment the teams got in the ring. It was fast-paced, great double team moves, outside the ring action, and a strong post-match angle. The “Dusty Finish” was not necessary, but it did not detract from the match.

Most Cringeworthy Moment

Cookookatchoo!

Brian Bayless: “Dr. Death” Steve Williams’ return interview from Japan was horrendous. He tripped all over his words while talking about challenging Ric Flair! Later on in the show when I saw Al Perez’s interview (Perez was not good on the stick and lacked charisma) with Gary Hart as his manager, it was clear that Hart should have been managing Williams and they should have made Williams heel.

Jacob Williams: Dr. Death stumbled through his promo. He kept pausing and skipping like he was malfunctioning.

Calum McDougall: Dr. Death’s interview with Bob Caudle was the most cringeworthy moment on this show – it was painful to watch and listen to. He said a lot of words but didn’t say anything of substance at all! Is he Dusty’s friend? Is he his enemy? I think he challenged Ric Flair but I’m not entirely sure. Why don’t you just use this time to reintroduce him by killing a jobber? You know, what he’s good at!

Dave Hall: After an amazing main event where Flair and Sting tore the house down, we were subjected to a “judges’ decision” in which non-wresting celebrities were used, and one of the “wrestling legends” voted for a draw. You have a judge there to make a decision when one is not achieved in the match. I thought this was really stupid and a waste of time.

Funniest Line/Moment

Any Questions?

Brian Bayless: “Get high on sports, not drugs.” – Bob Caudle’s deadpan delivery while reading off of the poster Nikita Koloff held up during his promo about teaming with Dusty Rhodes for the Crockett Cup.

Jacob Williams: In an incredible heel move, Cornette just blasts the ref with his racket on his way backstage.

Calum McDougall: With two play-by-play guys like Tony and Ross I was hard pressed to find anything that stood out, and I totally switched off when it came to the interviews by Caudle, so my quote of the night is one that I imagine that happened backstage. “I got a great idea baby! Tonight, the American Dream is tag teaming with the Road Warriors. So tonight, daddy, Dusty Rhodes will put on some face paint! For one night only, Dusty Rhodes will be Road Warrior Dream baby!”

Dave Hall: For me the funniest moment of the night was when, early in the event, the commentators were talking about the crowd at this NWA event, and the camera panned to a young fan cheering wildly. Clearly wearing a Jake “The Snake” Roberts t-shirt.

Highlights

The most important mustaches in the history of our sport.

Brian Bayless: The other Tag Team Title match was also a blast with Lex Luger & Barry Windham winning the titles. he main event of Ric Flair vs. Sting for the NWA World Heavyweight Title started off slow but built up well and ended up being a damn good match.

Jacob Williams: I loved the construction of the show. Aside from the lame opener, the show really built well and flowed into the huge main event. The two marquee tag matches were amazing. The crowd was nuclear and made nearly every match seem huge. There were a few slow spots in the main event, but the best moments are what wrestling is all about.

Calum McDougall: Straight out the traps in this show with Tony Schiavone’s majestic mustache, then we move straight to Randy Anderson’s permed mullet – if you meshed the two together you’d get Ross Gellar in a flashback episode of Friends. The post match of the TV Title match is outstanding too, with Precious being my MVP, she was absolutely fantastic. And finally, Dusty Rhodes’ face paint – I like when guys try to blend in with their partners, like Ahmed Johnson at WrestleMania 13 and Kurt Angle at TLC ’17.

Dave Hall: This was a strong card, with several really good matches. The NWA really put on a solid event to counter WrestleMania IV. The Main Event was a coming of age party for Sting, and Flair was at his in-ring best. The Tully/Arn vs Windham/Luger match was very good as well, with a good finish that really popped the crowd. As mentioned the Midnights vs Fantastics was an awesome fast-paced match. I even enjoyed the “unique rules” of the Garvin vs Rotunda match. While it was not a blow-away match, the one count rule made for interesting psychology, which both wrestlers and the commentators played up, and the “round” idea was different. I don’t know that I would want to see such a match again, but I enjoyed the unique way it was done.

Lowlights

Fuck this guy.

Brian Bayless:  Not much to complain about on this show but selling the main event as having judges make a decision in case of a draw then not even having two of the judges give a score while the tie-breaking judge scores it a draw makes you think why even have them to begin with?

Jacob Williams: The opener was very flat, especially compared to the energy of everything else on the show. Really the only lowlight, as I thought the barbed wire match was at least an interesting novelty that didn’t overstay its welcome.

Calum McDougall: Every. Single. Interview. They were all so dull, and I completely zoned out when they came on. The Barbed Wire six man was pretty bad too, whole lot of nothing. And Nikita Koloff with hair, that was a striking visual that I wasn’t expecting, some guys just should stay bald.

Dave Hall: For me the only in-ring lowlight was the Road Warriors/Dusty Rhodes match vs Powers of Pain/Ivan Koloff match. With all six in the ring at once, it looked more like a battle royal, and how can you have a barbed wire match and not use the wire? It looked like all six men were trying to avoid the edge of the ring, and finish as quick as they can. Total waste of time. The other lowlight was the use of “judges in the main event”, three of whom had no business “judging” a wrestling match. And then they could not even make a decision. This should never have been included. I would have just rather we end the match as they did, and then go off the air.

Wild Card BABY!!!

Wildcard!

Best Tidbit #1: At the time there were rumors of Jim Crockett Promotions taking over World Class Championship Wrestling and having Kevin & Kerry Von Erich debut on this show. – BB

Most Monotone: The personality vacuum that is Frances Crockett. Never has someone been on television that seemed less enthused about anything ever. – CM

PSA of the Night: Get high on sports, not drugs! Thanks, Nikita Koloff! – JW

Most Redundant: Jason Hervey and Ken Osmond who were brought in to be judges in the main event… and their opinions were never asked for nor taken into account when deciding the victor of the match. – CM

Who Edited This??: How can you have an interview with Jim Cornette hyping him and the Midnight Express AFTER their match is completed. This interview should have been before the match. This just seemed so out of place. – DH

Best Tidbit #2: According to the Warlord, Dusty Rhodes put him together with the Barbarian and Animal of the Road Warriors came up with the Powers of Pain name. – BB

Final Thoughts

Brian Bayless: After the WWF screwed with Crockett earlier in the year by running the Royal Rumble free on USA opposite of the Bunkhouse Stampede PPV, Crockett returned the favor and ran this opposite of WrestleMania IV. This show was so much better than the PPV and might have been the best free TV special in wrestling history. A show that breezed by and the crowd was pumped the entire night. An awesome offering that all fans should seek out. RATING: 9/10

Jacob Williams: If this had just a little bit more to offer in the early going (like a good opener) this might be 10/10. As it stands, it is still an amazing show with an incredible amount of greatness crammed into two hours that encapsulates why people still hold 80s NWA wrestling so near and dear. RATING: 9/10

Calum McDougall: This show is legendary for a reason. Three out of the five matches were outstanding and the other two could’ve been good had they not been hamstrung a bit by the gimmick. But this show is head and shoulders above WrestleMania IV and the 90 matches it went head to head with. It’s easy to say that this is a one match show, given how memorable Flair vs Sting is, but there’s much more to it than the time limit draw. I cant recommend this enough. RATING: 8/10

Dave Hall: A really good event, which still holds up today. Of the five matches, only one was not any good. Three of the other four matches were outstanding, and the Garvin vs Rotunda match was enjoyable. I can see why it got such praise back in 1988, and I think it still deserves lots of praise today. It could have used a couple of strong interviews to hype some of the matches for people who would have been tuning into NWA for the first time (especially from Flair and Sting), which drops the score a point in my opinion. RATING: 9/10

And we are out! Where will the Network Adventure travel to? Which Coliseum will be conquered next? Which of these assholes will quit the project in an indignant rage??? Find out in TWO WEEKS!

[michaelbradford-things]

#5 Stand Out Buildings in the World of Eco-Construction

Global ecological awareness is an increasing priority in construction – both for the construction companies, and the homeowners and businesses buying such properties.

Of course, eco-approaches, sustainability and the use of exciting and innovative recycled (and recyclable) materials can only be a good thing when it comes to building necessary homes, business and public service premises. Yet there’s another piece of good news: eco-construction is getting competitive.

There are now prestigious awards, such as the Global Good Awards UK’s Building Sustainably Award, which rewards and highlights those building projects which showcase innovation in eco-construction. Not only does winning such awards offer significant kudos for construction companies, earning them recognition and respect for their achievements and methods, but also the healthy competition generated inspires continued growth and innovation in this important area of construction.

This was certainly demonstrated in 2017, with distinguished RIBA award for sustainable design being awarded to:

  #1 The Enterprise Centre, University of East Anglia

Since its completion in 2015, this highly eco straw-clad building has won many awards including several from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The building’s eco-credentials include a real focus on sustainable materials, which incorporate straw cladding to the exterior of the building.

  #2 Blackburn Meadows Biomass Power Plant, Sheffield

Sought to replace recently demolished local landmarks, the Tinsley Towers, the construction of this new power plant needed not only to be robust in terms of its function and its eco-construction credentials, but also sustainable in terms of its heritage symbol’s contribution to the local landscape.

  The new plant needed to: “Provide a striking new landmark in the place of the recently demolished Tinsley Cooling Towers, entering public consciousness as a marker for the city and a beacon of sustainable energy production.” (E.On)

  And as well as these award-winners, there are plenty more buildings which have been going up as part of dedicated eco-construction …

  #3 Bloomberg’s European HQ, London

This magnificent 10-storey high building in London is not only winning awards, but also setting new standards when it comes to sustainable construction and efficiency for office buildings.

  The building has earned a massive 98.5% BREEAM score (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), the highest score ever awarded and which relates directly to global sustainability standards. Eco-friendly methods for construction and efficiency include:

A roof designed to incorporate a full grey-water collection system;

Toilet facilities using vacuum drainage methods, to reduce water usage;

4,000 integrated ceiling panels which incorporate thermal, lighting and acoustic functions;

LED lighting has been installed throughout, using 40% less energy than the fluorescent lighting commonly found in office buildings.

  #4 Heelis, National Trust HQ, Swindon

You’d expect the National Trust to have something to say about buildings leaving a legacy of the positive kind, and their HQ in Swindon carries this idea right through its eco-friendly design and construction. The National Trust offices are recognised as being among the greenest in the UK, offering:

Carbon emissions at 65% less than similar sized buildings.

Significant levels of self-sufficiency by providing 30% of its own electricity via photovoltaic panels across the roof.

Recycled beer can ventilation snouts.

Wool carpeting and textiles made from Herdwick sheep fleece, from the Trust’s own flocks.

    #5 Earth-Sheltered social housing scheme, Honingham, Norfolk

It’s back to Norfolk again for this eco-scheme which has been up and running for approximately a decade now and was also, at the time of construction, considered for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Sustainability Award. But even today, the development continues to draw attention from its focus on going ‘back to the roots’ of sustainability, particularly in the context of the current housing crisis.

  The complex of four bungalows is constructed so that the majority of the accommodation lies under ground, effectively using the earth and layers of plants on top as insulation. In this way, the building is naturally protected from all extremes of weather and temperature, being both energy efficient and freeze proof, so much so that no conventional heating systems are required.

  Since being built, the properties have also proved low maintenance and to ‘heal’ the signs of their own construction, now blending beautifully with the natural environment and providing welcome habitat for both human occupants and wildlife on the roof. Such developments are now moving back into the limelight as the latest generation of eco-builders (and possibly housing ministers) consider the debate between green space and much-needed housing: by providing shelter for living or working, with minimal impact, then these buildings can really stand out just by blending in.

  Finally, as with any construction site, eco-construction also requires barrier products for safety and security. Talk to SafeSite Facilities if you’re specifically looking for construction site products which are also designed with recycling and sustainability in mind.

  #5 Stand Out Buildings in the World of Eco-Construction was first published on http://ukconstructionblog.co.uk

Read Full Article: https://brandonholdensite.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/5-stand-out-buildings-in-the-world-of-eco-construction/

[evolutionproperties]

Industry reacts to Spring Statement

13th March 2018

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond, has delivered his Spring Statement this afternoon and amongst the Dad jokes he reaffirmed the government's commitment to oversee the building of 300,000 homes annually.

The Chancellor also announced 26,000 new affordable homes in the capital and highlighted that 60,000 first time buyers have already benefited from Stamp Duty relief which was announced during the November 2017 budget.

Additionally, the Housing Growth Partnership, which provides financial support for small housebuilders, will be more than doubled to £220 million.

As ever, the property industry was quick to react. Here's what they're saying:

Russell Quirk, founder and CEO of Emoov.co.uk, commented: “Reaffirming to see the Chancellor yet again cover the hot topic of housing, but we still haven’t seen the delivery of promises from previous budgets, so only time will tell if these words will actually equate to action. If it does come to fruition, his pledge of 300,000 homes a year will go some way in addressing the UK’s housing crisis.

Today’s additional announcement of 215,000 homes within the West Midlands region by 2031 will see an already strong area of the UK property market further accelerate where price growth is concerned. Despite uncertainty plaguing the current property landscape, these more affordable regions have seen a sustained level of buyer demand and so this increased investment into the local property market should only see this continue.

In contrast, London has been one of the worst hit in terms of a dwindling appetite for property amongst buyers. While the commitment of 26,000 affordable homes in the capital and a total of 116,000 affordable homes by 2022 would be a step in the right direction, the government delivered just under 7,000 affordable homes in 2017. So, there is quite a large gap between their good intentions and reality and this is simply not adequate enough to fix London’s broken housing market.”

Richard Pike, Phoebus Software sales and marketing director, said: “Bearing in mind that it is only four months since the investment of £44bn to raise housing supply was announced, it appears the government is indeed holding to its promise of making housing a priority.  The Housing Growth Partnership budget has increased, which means more support for small housebuilders.  This is a vital element in getting the housing we need built, in the areas where people want to live.  However, the question is how that money finds its way to the developers and how they can combine it effectively with other funding to get each project underway and finished.

The most frustrating thing for many, following today’s speech, is that we will have to wait until the budget in November to find out how the government intends to tackle the gap from planning permission to build completion.  This issue is one that really needs to be undertaken sooner rather than later so that land banking becomes a thing of the past.”

Simon Heawood, CEO at property investment platform Bricklane.com, comments: “Philip Hammond’s announcement in today’s Spring Statement that an investment programme of £44 billion will see the UK on track to deliver 300,000 houses by mid-2020 is great news, provided it is actually delivered. We're seeing movements towards the government really dealing with the affordability crisis, though we believe a holistic set of solutions is required to meeting this complex challenge. The recent cut to stamp duty and building announcements are welcome for those lucky enough to be able to buy. We would like to see more done to help those saving to get on the ladder, as well as moves to further professionalise the rental market for tenants."

Neil Knight, Business Development Director at Spicerhaart Part Exchange &  Assisted Move, had this to say: “In his Spring Statement today, the Chancellor highlighted the £44bn housing pot that he announced in the Autumn statement, and said that his housing minister in working with 44 councils that have bid for the £4.1bn housing infrastructure fund. Mr Hammond also announced that the Government has agreed a deal in the West Midlands where that local authority will be getting a £100m grant from the land remediation fund to deliver 215,0000 homes.

It is very encouraging that the West Midlands is receiving such a substantial grant. Following the Spicerhaart group’s latest acquisition Staffordshire based estate agency business butters john bee, we have widened our coverage into the West Midlands so this announcement is very pertinent for us.  We know the West Midlands is in desperate need of new housing and where usually, funding tends to be focussed on London and more recently, the North, it is encouraging to see a deal like this in the Midlands.”

John Philips, group operations director at Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart, commented: “In his Spring Statement today, the chancellor announced plans for 215,000 new homes in the West Midlands and an extra 26,000 in London, which given the current housing crisis will come as welcome news for first time buyers particularly, because the demand for affordable first time buyer homes  higher than ever.

Last year saw the highest number of first time buyers in a decade and January this year a 7.7% rise in gross mortgage lending. At the time I said this was likely a combination of low rates, the help to buy scheme and latterly, the stamp duty changes announced in the last budget. We can now see that these changes have in fact had a huge impact on the market with the chancellor that 60,000 first time house buyers have already benefited from the change.

The Chancellor also announced that inflation is predicted to return to its 2 per cent target over the next 12 months, which  suggests that the speculation over further rate rises may be just that. The reason for the recent rise was to curb inflation, but if it is due to fall back naturally over the coming months, these rate rises may not happen, meaning borrowing conditions will remain favourably low.

We have heard housing promises before that have not come to fruition, however, if the Government and the local authorities uphold their commitments, these new affordable homes, combined with the incentives for first time buyers and low rates could mean 2018 is even better for first time buyers than 2017.”

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB said: “The Chancellor’s announcement of a consultation to tackle the scourge of late payment today should mark a turning point on this issue. We should use this opportunity to bring about a spring clean of payment practices which negatively impact on small business. Construction giant Carillion’s collapse at the start of the year brought to light once again the need to eliminate poor payment practises that plague the construction sector particularly.  Indeed, one London based small building firm was once paid more than 270 days late by a construction giant. Now is the time to move away from these unsustainable business models which threaten the existence of many firms and their supply chains.

This announcement today should be followed by a fundamental rethink ending in the permanent abolition of late payment terms and the exploitative use of retention payments.

At first glance the Spring Statement has brought some other positive announcements for the UK’s small construction firms. The announcement of a doubling of funding to the Lloyd’s Housing Growth Partnership and an additional £80 million funding to support SME firms looking to engage an apprentice is welcome news. With Brexit looming large on the horizon and the construction industry facing a chronic skills crisis, it’s of the utmost importance that more skilled workers begin to join the sector. An additional £50 million to support T level training will further aid this aim.”

Jeremy Leaf, North London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, says: "We welcome the Chancellor’s reiteration of the importance of the housing market and how tackling the housing crisis is key to all other economic policies, with particular reference to longer-term building projects and trying to address capacity issues by giving further assistance to apprenticeships.

However, at grass roots level what we are really lacking is supply and transaction numbers. If these were to be improved, on the one hand it would keep property prices in check and on the other it would generate real benefits for not just the housing market but for the economy as a whole.

The stamp duty concessions have definitely prompted more interest among first-time buyers, who are often taking the place of investors at the lower end of the market. But further help is needed to make a real difference, not just at the bottom end of the market but right through to the top end if we are to achieve genuine growth."

Neil Cobbold, Chief Operating Officer of PayProp in the UK, had this to say: "Due to the shift to annual Treasury reporting, the Spring Statement was not as in-depth or wide-ranging as an annual Budget. That said, relatively few housing measures and spending plans made it into the Chancellor's statement.

The government has consistently promoted its commitment to fixing the UK's 'broken' housing market, so we expected more updates to this effect.

Some of the housing measures yet to be addressed or finalised, include the ban on letting agent fees, the proposed extension to mandatory HMO landlord licensing and additional regulation of the private rental sector.

The government is clearly committed to addressing the UK's ongoing housing problems. Increasing the supply of available homes to buy is a key strategy and one that could have obvious positive outcomes in the future.

However, one issue that is potentially being overlooked is affordable housing in the private rental sector. Private tenants now account for a fifth of all households and the latest annual English Housing Survey shows that renting is now the largest housing tenure in London.

It could, therefore, be beneficial to move away from the notion that everyone wants to buy a home, embrace the rental revolution and work out how to provide more high-quality, affordable rental housing.

The Chancellor revealed that the stamp duty cut for first-time buyers announced in November’s Budget has benefitted over 60,000 property purchasers.

Moving forward, what could be valuable is a government investigation into the 3% stamp duty surcharge on additional homes and how it has affected the rental market during the two years it has been in operation.

The ban on fees has been hanging over the industry for almost 18 months and it would benefit all parties involved in the private rental sector to have a solid date to work towards.

For the majority of agents, plans to mitigate the effect of the ban will already be in place and now is the time to put these plans into action and make sure your business is ready to adapt to this huge market change.

Agents need to ensure they are exploring ways to streamline their processes, generate additional revenue and improve their landlord proposition.

Paresh Raja, CEO of MFS, said: “Today’s modest, if not lacklustre, speech offered few meaningful solutions to the long-term challenges facing the property market – albeit this was expected after Philip Hammond’s warned the nation to expect no frills from his speech. While the announcement of higher growth in the economy is welcomed, the decision to water down the Spring Statement so much is not. After all, underlying problems such as housing supply won’t wait until the Budget in the Autumn.

Yes the Chancellor reiterated that £44 billion was available to help hit new-build targets, but following Theresa May’s housing speech last week, today’s announcement could have taken further steps towards developing a successful plan for helping more people get on or move up the property ladder. Instead this job has been left to the housing secretary, who will purportedly be making further announcements in the coming days."

Leon Ifayemi, CEO and co-founder of SPCE, comments: “Today’s Spring Statement was somewhat disappointing. While we knew that the Chancellor’s decision to move the Budget to Autumn meant the new Spring Statement might be light on new policies, the lack of more new spending commitments was still troubling.

As the property and rental markets face fundamental issues such as housing supply, lack of affordability and rising rental prices, the Government is still not doing enough to directly address these problems; instead the Chancellor continues to set targets for new-build properties, and only time will tell if these are met. It is a shame for renters in particular, because this was a great chance to build on previous reforms, such as banning lettings agent fees and cutting stamp duty for first-time buyers. Let’s hope the Autumn Budget can reverse this oversight.”

    EVOLUTION PROPERTIES - ESTATE AGENTS IN ASHFORD, KENT

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We continue to be a pioneer in the Ashford property sector. For example, you can take a trip around one of our properties on our video tour page, where you can be given a full virtual overview of the property from the comfort of your home.

As the leading Ashford estate agents, you can be confident that you will receive an experienced and professional service. Evolution is an independent company, so our customer service has a personal touch that other chain agents cannot provide.

A Professional Service with a Difference

By offering a service tailored to the requirements of any property owner, Evolution continues to be a pioneer/innovator within the Ashford property sector.

We have built up our customer base on traditional values of hard work, integrity and value for money.

[rahullikesthings]

I’ve done these year-end reflections for the last four years, and most of them have been how things went badly and how I hope they get better. I’m happy to say 2017 was a really solid year for me. There’s a whole list of accomplishments I’m proud of, some I had worked towards, some that happened by coincidence. I moved into my own apartment. I got a promotion and two different raises at work. I’ve been booked more than ever since I’ve been doing standup. I started my own show. I’ve made friends, at work and through comedy. And as someone that hasn’t had much of that in a few years, I think it’s helped me be less cynical and paranoid about new acquaintances and relationships whenever they do happen. I met Terrell Owens (kind of a weird dude) and Eric Dickerson (cool guy!) and got that close to Steve Kerr at the Warriors championship parade. 

There’s still plenty more I hope to accomplish, but it’s fair to say this year is the start of an upward trajectory. I’m in a good space mentally and physically. I see people around me progressing and moving forward and I’m super happy for them. I’m thinking of going vegan. There’s people I hope to meet, places I hope to travel to, more achievements to realize. 

As I started to put together these lists, I realized how strange my media intake felt this year. Stuff that happened earlier in the year feels like sooo long ago. There are songs I loved that I forgot were released this year at all. The albums list was tough because there was no clear number one for me but definitely a handful that I really liked. There were more beyond that I thoroughly enjoyed, put in a playlist, and then completely forgot about because I guess that’s what streaming is. “Crew” was easily my favorite song this year. I spend just enough time in car to actually listen to the radio and it was such a cool feeling to hear Shy Glizzy on there. I get psyched and sing along to his verse every. single time. 

I watched a ton of TV this year but, really, no show comes close to American Vandal. The humor, the characters, the depth of the parody, the bingeability. It’s maybe the best representation of high school I’ve ever seen on screen. Quality all around. I don’t know that would tell someone who has never seen Twin Peaks to watch it, but there were three of four moments in this season that were some of the most visceral experiences I’ve ever had watching any TV or movie. Godless was fire. Mindhunter was also great. I thought this final season of The Carmichael Show was nearly perfect. Curb might not have had its best season but I laughed uncontrollably at every scene between Larry and Richard Lewis. The Get Down deserved more. The Deuce was as good as people said, but I think I needed a little something more. Shout out to Shark Tank for always coming through. 

I may have watched more movies this year than in any other year in recent memory (shouts to my Movie Pass). I don’t know that I had an obvious number one, but Lady Bird, Florida Project and Get Out are in that discussion for me. But also Star Wars: The Last Jedi was maybe the greatest movie I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve spent so much of my life with this franchise, I didn’t think I could be surprised anymore. The throne room scene is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, and the audience reaction to Laura Dern’s lightspeed was priceless (every single time). Highlight: Watching Get Out at the Jack London theater in Oakland on opening weekend / Lowlight: not being able to discuss it at work the next day because San Francisco is the whitest, most clueless, most tone-deaf city on Earth. American Made won’t get mentioned a lot but it was one of the more fun experiences I’ve had at the movies. Girls Trip was awesome and hilarious. The Game of Thrones prison scene in Logan Lucky and the Kumail/Ray Romano 9/11 joke in The Big Sick are literally two of the funniest moments in any movie ever. I thought I was over comic book movies, but three ended up on this list. I still can’t tell if I liked Dunkirk.

Here’s to 2018.

Best Songs:

Goldlink “Crew (feat. Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy)” SZA “Supermodel” Tove Love “Disco Tits” Migos “T-Shirt” Playboi Carti “Magnolia” Future “Solo” Sevyn Streeter “Before I Do” Kendrick “Fear” Kelela “LMK” Bruno Mars “That’s What I Like” Ty Dolla $ign “Famous” Adrian Marcel “UKNOWUDO” Miguel “Told You So” 2 Chainz “It’s A Vibe (feat. Ty Dolla $ign, Trey Songz & Jhene Aiko)” A$AP Ferg “Plain Jane” Buddy “Type of Shit (feat. Wiz Khalifa)” Devin the Dude “Are You Goin' My Way?” Frank Ocean “Chanel” Che Ecru “2 Am” Majid Jordan “One I Want (feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR)” Rick Ross “Trap, Trap, Trap (feat. Young Thug & Wale)” Young Thug “Daddy’s Birthday” Vince Stapes “Big Fish” PRETTYMUCH “Open Arms” Wizkid “Come Closer (feat. Drake)”

Best Albums: 

Future HNDRXX Future FUTURE Kelela Take Me Apart Kendrick Lamar DAMN. IDK Iwasverybad Miguel War & Leisure SZA Ctrl Ty Dolla $ign Beach House 3 Jonwayne Rap Album Two Aminé Good For You Mary J. Blige Strength Of A Woman Drake More Life Meek Mill Wins & Losses Jay-Z 4:44 Playboi Carti Playboi Carti Che Ecru buries SiR Her Too Goldlink At What Cost Lou The Human Humaniac Roc Marciano Rosebudd’s Revenge Mozzy & Gunplay Dreadlocks & Headshots Wiki No Mountains In Manhattan milo who told you to think??!!?!?!?! Migos Culture Anna Wise The Feminine: Act II

Best Beats:

Oh No x Tristate “Wind Chime Wizardry” (Oh No) Juelz Santana & Dave East “Time Ticking” (Jahlil Beats) Offset & Metro Boomin “Ric Flair Drip” (Bijan Amir, Metro Boomin)  Future “Solo” (Dre Moon) Iamsu “Shake” (Iamsu) Aminé “Slide” (Jahaan Sweet, Aminé) Kap G “Motivation” (???) Mila J “Fuckboy” (Immanuel Jordan Rich) Jonwayne “Afraid Of Us” (Jonwayne) SZA “Go Gina” (Scum, Lang, Frank Dukes) Milo “Sorcerer” (Kenny Segal) Action Bronson “Bonzai” (Harry Fraud) RJMrLA & DJ Mustard “Hard Way” (DJ Mustard)

Best TV Shows:

American Vandal Mindhunter Godless Twin Peaks: The Return Bojack Horseman The Carmichael Show The Deuce Rick and Morty The Leftovers Master of None Veep Halt and Catch Fire Mr. Robot The Good Place The Get Down Shark Tank Glow Insecure Marvel’s Runaways Lady Dynamite The Defiant Ones All or Nothing  Every scene in Curb Your Enthusiasm between Larry and Richard Lewis

Best Movies:

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Lady Bird The Florida Project Get Out Logan Lucky American Made Logan Girls Trip Hidden Figures The Meyerowitz Stories Molly’s Game The Big Sick Thor: Ragnarok Coco Wonder Woman It The Disaster Artist Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond Spider-Man: Homecoming  Dunkirk The Lost City of Z

Best Comedy Specials:

Louis C.K.: 2017 (I know, I know...) Roy Wood Jr: Father Figure Norm Macdonald: Hitler's Dog, Gossip & Trickery Chris Gethard: Career Suicide Al Madrigal: Shrimpin' Ain't Easy Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King Brent Weinbach: Appealing to the Mainstream  Rory Scovel Tries Stand-Up For The First Time Maria Bamford: Old Baby Erik Griffin: The Ugly Truth Neal Brennan: Three Mics The Standups: Fortune Feimster The Standups: Beth Stelling Marc Maron: Too Real Comedy Central Stand Up Presents: Anthony Devito Comedy Central Stand Up Presents: Sam Jay Joe Mande's Award-Winning Comedy Special Todd Barry: Spicy Honey Ryan Hamilton: Happy Face The Standups: Nate Bargatze 

Previously: 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013

[lostinyourears]

Puroresu-Rewind #2 :  Giant Baba (c) [PWF] vs. Verne Gagne (c) [AWA] 2/3 falls Champion vs Champion (AJPW 1/18/81)

Playlist of the 3 videos which were all uploaded by account Pronkb000

(Card with Guide)

Who’s Who?

Verne Gagne is famously the co-founder of American Wrestling Association with promoter Wally Karbo. Initially called NWA Minneapolis(Boxing & Wrestling Club) before they broke away from NWA in the late 50′s and in 1960 became AWA. AWA was a major promotion into the late 80′s before basically being pushed down a tier by the big 2 : NWA and WWF.

AWA would close its doors in 1991, but not before employing talents that would later go on to be stars for those other 2 major companies like :  "Mean Gene" Okerlund, manager Bobby Heenan,  Scott Hall, The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty), "Bull Power" Leon White (later known as Big Van Vader), The Nasty Boys, Madusa Miceli and Curt Hennig who famously held their main title a little over a year from May of ‘87 to May of ‘88.

Verne Gagne’s wrestling career started in 1949 when he would have been 23 and continued to wrestle into the 1980′s with ‘81 listed as his retirement on wikipedia, though he did have some more wrestling appearances until ‘86 in AWA when he would have been 60. He held the AWA Heavyweight title 10 times in his career and was a big star there along with Nick Bockwinkel,  Mad Dog Vachon and The Crusher. 

Perhaps more notable than his wrestling career, is his career as a trainer. Having trained over 100 wrestlers in his time as co-founder of AWA. Along with those noted above, he also trained : Ricky Steamboat, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Scott Norton and Bob Backlund.

Giant Baba was similarly famous for being the founder of AJPW. He and Antonio Inoki both wrestled for the first wrestling promotion of Japan : Japanese Wrestling Association or JWA. It’s founder(Rikidozan) was murdered in 1963, which really hurt it’s management. Both Inoki(NJPW) and Baba(AJPW) would found companies in 1972 with JWA biting the dust in 1973 with both the new promotions eating its lunch and taking its audience. 

In the early years of both AJPW and NJPW their main stars were their founders. Giant Baba having the first reign with AJPW’s PWF belt a staggering 1,920 day reign, the next longest reign being Baba with 1,354 days and the 3rd longest reign also being Baba at 364 days before finally 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th reigns were all Stan Hansen before Baba shows up again with the 8th longest.  

Outside of his own promotion, in JWA during the 60′s before AJPW became a thing he also had 3 long reigns with the NWA International Heavyweight title each being over 600 days and the shortest only ending because he left JWA to go form AJPW. Baba much like Gagne retired at the age of 60 in 1998. Sadly, unlike Gagne he didn’t live for another 30 years instead passing away in 1999 at the age of 61. 

Baba’s last notable bouts were probably in 1995 when he was in the World Tag League. With most years after that just having Baba in dozens of 3 on 3 AJPW tag matches. After Baba passed away Mitsuharu Misawa would inherit the duty of president for a short stint before he much like Baba before him left the established company to create his own promotion : NOAH. AJPW still operates today, unlike AWA which as noted closed in the early 90′s. 

How’s the match?

Ehhhhhhh.... It’s a match from 1981? While a match I covered recently(Tatsumi Fujinami © vs Chavo Guerrero) was from 1980 and did hold up pretty well, I think that’s in great part to the Junior Division of NJPW being ahead of their time. That being said even Inoki’s World League matches from around this time are head and shoulders above this bout. I think Inoki is generally considered a better worker than Baba, but I can’t confidently say that as my opinion. Because I haven’t watched enough of Baba, or Inoki for that matter. This is... this is a rocky start for my exposure to Baba. 

I mean a big sign of how this match is, can be summed up by starting the match. Baba and Gagne do maybe 1 thing of note... then a wipe happens and 10 minutes have passed. This seems like an edit by AJPW... which is pretty sad. Even they were like... yea ten minutes pass and nothing of note really happened. It was very, very, very bizarre to me. 

Also, because of that wipe I feel like I cannot really give this a proper rating. Maybe... in that ten minutes Gagne pulled out a canadian destroyer and Baba did a corkscrew plancha or some crazy exchange. While I’m joking, it is hard to judge a 24 minute match when 10 minutes of it is skipped. 

Some matches like Chavo/Tatsumi almost feel timeless and even in 2040 will probably still be a spectacle if you are in the right mindset. This isn’t one of those matches, it’s very much of the time and like lots of Hogan’s WWF output from the 80′s just feels limited, not enough happening out of each man’s signature spots.  

Where it does shine is showcasing two talents who really were mega stars in the 60′s and 70′s this is the tail end for both and especially Verne Gagne who on paper properly retired this year. It’s also a once in a lifetime match. They never fought before and never fought after. 

What really ends up killing it for me is the inconclusive finish. A cliche/stereotype/common complaint with AJPW especially in the 80′s and early 90′s is the dreaded draw. Which this match has. Verne wins the first, Baba the second and the third ends via countout. 

AAHHHHH the dreaded AJPW countout. It’s led to great matches feeling lackluster and in this match that feels dated it takes it from an ‘Okay, but dated match’ to a just ‘who cares?’. An interesting time piece, but I’m certain both men have dozens if not hundreds of better matches under their respective promotion founding belts. 

This is really the first match I’ve covered on this tumblr/blog that I wouldn’t suggest watching. It’s interesting and two icons of mid-century wrestling, but the ending kinda kills it for me. It’s free though and really will only cost you time.

Highlights :